PH sensing in Bacillus subtilis: A new path to a common goal

Abstract

pH is one of the most fundamental properties of the environments in which microorganisms live. It is, therefore, not surprising that bacteria have evolved mechanisms to sense and respond to pH. One aspect of this response for motile bacteria is to migrate to areas of optimal pH. The paper by P. Tohidifar, M. J. Plutz, G. W. Ordal, and C. V. Rao (J Bacteriol 202:e00491-19, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.00491-19) describes how Bacillus subtilis uses bidirectional chemotaxis mediated by four closely related dCACHE_1 chemoreceptors to migrate to regions of neutral pH.